The Blind Watchmaker

The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design (1986; 2006 reissue), by Richard Dawkins (Read during the summer of 2022).

This is one of those “I should have read this book ages ago” cases. The eminent British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins provides in his classic The Blind Watchmaker a truly fascinating account of Darwinist evolution concepts for the uninitiated. The book is incredibly entertaining and an example on how science should be put forward to be understood by any interested reader.

Dawkins clearly explains the basic concepts on evolution, also considering how they have been studied and analysed over the years, and discarding alternate theories. The title and the main message from the book both come from the old analogy that said that, as the existence of a watch with all its complex mechanisms, compels the belief in an intelligent watchmaker, the existence of complex living entities necessarily proofs the existence of a creator.

Dawkins shows that, while there is a component of randomness in gene mutation – the process that originates evolutive change – its joint action with natural selection is enough to explain the whole existence of life, including the human kind, and thus we do not even need to think about the possibility of a god that creates living entities, let alone one that looks over evolution.

The explanation is clear and fascinating and should help anyone question their own beliefs in the matter. This is especially relevant in a time where extremist beliefs and ignorance have been constantly flourishing all over the world. A refreshing amount of science helping us to understand life and asking some fundamental questions.